North Lake Tahoe firefighters pour water on a house after a runaway truck on the Mt. Rose Highway veered through a runaway truck ramp and into the Incline Village home Friday morning. / Tim Dunn / RGJ

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A lumber truck that apparently lost its brakes Friday on Mount Rose Highway catapulted off the end of a runaway truck ramp, smashed into an Incline Village home and exploded into flames, killing the driver.

The sole occupant of the home, located near the junction with Nevada 28, escaped without injury. The two-story house was gutted by fire, and four pet cats were believed to have died.

Officials worked throughout the day to extract the truck's cab, which was embedded inside the smoldering and unstable structure and believed to contain the driver's body.

Tim Shelnutt, who was cutting grass at the nearby St. Francis Catholic Church, said he saw the 45-foot flatbed truck careening down the highway at high speed about 8:15 a.m.

"He came down the hill. He didn't have no brakes or nothing. I knew he was in trouble," said Shelnutt, 48. "He went up that ramp, and it didn't even slow him down."

The truck launched into the air and then smashed into the Woodridge Circle home, Shelnutt said.

"It blew up as soon as he hit," Shelnutt said, adding that he ran to the scene to help but could do little.

"He was actually screaming for help when I got there, but there was nothing I could do," Shelnutt said. "It was one of the most helpless feelings."

Gwendolynn Ewasko, 19, was in her living room when the truck plowed into her home.

"There was a big crash, and I saw these huge flames. I thought it was an earthquake," Ewasko said. "Everything just came caving in. It was crazy."

Ewasko fled the house as it burned. Had she been in her bedroom or kitchen when the crash occurred, "I would have definitely been very badly hurt," she said.

Her father, Damon Ewasko, was at work when the accident occurred. He later watched as crews hosed down hot spots in his demolished home.

"It's just a miracle" his daughter escaped without injury, said Ewasko, 45.

"What next? What to do?" Ewasko said. "I've got a lot of friends around, and we'll make it. It's just not something you expect."

Trooper Dan Lopez of the Nevada Highway Patrol declined to identify the truck's owner but said officials believe they know the identity of the driver. About 4:45 p.m., the truck cab was pulled from the house with the driver inside. His name will not be released until his identity is confirmed and family notified, officials said.

Previous accidents have occurred at the same runaway truck ramp but officials could not provide precise dates.

The most recent, believed to have occurred within the decade, involved a gravel truck that lost its brakes, causing minor damage to the same home from flying gravel. The truck did not actually strike the house, which had a different owner at the time, in that accident, officials said.

Scott Magruder, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Transportation, said officials will study the accident to determine if any changes are needed with the runaway ramp.

"We'll see exactly what occurred because we don't know right now," Magruder said. "Obviously, we'll look to see if there is anything we can do to improve the ramp."

Runaway truck ramps are no guarantee against serious accidents like Friday's, Magruder said.

"It's like a guardrail, it's there to assist. The intent is to slow the truck down," Magruder said. "It does not completely prevent crashes."